180 memorial crab apple trees to be removed from Water Works Park

The building boom that has defined Des Moines since the recession will continue in the new year.
Kim Norvell/Des Moines Register

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Crab apple trees bloom in white and pink on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, at Water Works Park in Des Moines. The Arie Den Boer Arboretum is one of the largest collections of crab apple trees in the world and draws thousands of visitors to Water Works Park in the spring.(Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)Buy Photo

The number of trees marked to be removed this month represents 15 percent of the total trees in the Arie den Boer Arboretum. Trees will be removed on the northern and southern portions of the arboretum to make way for trail improvements, the amphitheater space and the planned pedestrian tunnel underneath Fleur Drive, said Bill Stowe, CEO of the utility.

Stowe stopped the memorial tree program when he took over as CEO in 2012.

Stowe said he has a different view on biodiversity and tree density than his predecessors.

"I don't love having trees planted too closely or being overly-dependent on a particular type of tree," he said.

Stowe said the utility's job is producing water and providing a public park, "not selling plots," and there will be occasions where any of the park's trees could be at risk to fulfill the utility's larger mission.

"People had the expectation that they'd plant a tree and it would be here forever. That's unrealistic," he said.

Originally planted in 1930 and named for its first horticulturist, the collection of 300 varieties of crab apple trees is the third-largest collection in the world.

Stowe said he's not sure when the donation program began, but it likely reached its peak in the 1980s to 1990s. Individuals sponsored the cost of a tree in the name of a loved one or to celebrate an event, marked by a metal-and-plastic tag that hangs from a branch.

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A runner passes by the blooming crab apple trees in Water Works Park on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in Des Moines.(Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)

Varying shades of pink blossoms bloom during the last week of April, attracting thousands of visitors to the park. But these flowering trees live only 30 to 40 years, a relatively short lifespan for a tree, and they are not particularly flood resistant, the utility said.

Stowe, who once managed the City of Des Moines' forestry department as head of public works, said he doesn't love having trees planted too closely and being overly-dependent on any one species.

The utility said it will continue to plant heartier tree varieties around the new development.

The utility said it intends to give crab apple tree saplings to those whose tree will be removed. And it's planning to honor each name with a new memorial feature.

Anyone with questions about the memorial trees should contact Jessica Barnett, Des Moines Water Works Supervisor of Property Management, at 515-283-8702 or jbarnett@dmww.com.